Passion for Pushing the Limits in Landscape Construction (Sept. '05) discusses "green roof" design. The designer was asked to "landscape the top of an underground parking garage­-which also happened to be the ground-level entrance to the building."  The project is in Houston, TX which "gets 60 to 70 inches of rainfall a year. Landscape architect Jennifer Appel says, "We knew that if we landscaped it in a traditional manner with soil, and we got another tropical storm, it could collapse the roof.' . . Using the studies she read, Appel came up with a design that was similar to a typical planter­-a planting medium made up entirely of perlite and Post Office packing peanuts. That whole system, plants and all, weighs in at about 293 pounds per square foot­-whereas soil alone would have topped 400 pounds." Read the complete article at http://www.lcmmagazine.com/articles/pushingthelimits.html .

Mexico, U.S. in Talks on Cement Tax ( HispanicVista.com, Sept. 14, 2005 ) "Hurricane Katrina may help end a 15-year trade dispute between the U.S. and Mexico over cement, as the massive rebuilding effort in the Gulf Coast could put pressure on U.S. officials to allow more imports into a market beset with shortages and high prices. U.S. and Mexican officials met Tuesday in Washington to discuss lowering or dismantling punitive tariffs on Mexican cement, which currently run as high as 62%. The U.S. Commerce Department imposed the penalties in 1990 after a group of 31 U.S.-based cement makers brought a successful anti-dumping case against Mexican producers that were selling their products at prices far below what they were charging in Mexico ." Read the complete article at http://www.hispanicvista.com/HVC/business/091905Lbus.htm

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